FT383 9for two cases of beer. Joey’s
mythical appearance comes
from one of his horns not fully
developing, making one a lot
more prominent than the other.
He now lives as a beloved pet
on Mr Foster’s property in Burra.
“We’ll break him in, take him to
shows and pageants, and who
knows where we can go, maybe
Hollywood,” he said.news.com.
au, 15 April 2019.ALL TIED UP
This May, four baby squirrels,
tied together by their tails,
were found in woodland near
Stockton-on-Tees by a member
of the public, who called the
RSPCA. An officer took them
to a localvet who managed to
untangle their tails, which were
effectively plaited together.
RSPCA inspector ClareWilson
said: “I think they must have
become entangled in the nest
and, maybe in their haste to
get free, jumped over each
other effectively plaiting the
tails so they were completely
stuck.” Such a cluster ofrats is
traditionally known as arat king,
hence the term“squirrel king”.
In May lastyear, sixyoung
squirrels whose tails were stucktogether were rescued from
a pine tree in Omaha. Their
sap-covered tails had become
knotted as theyoungsters,aged
about eight weeks, wrestled in
their nest. NebraskaWildlife
Rehab executive director Laura
Stastnygave them a mild
painkiller before removing the
sticky fur and untangling them
[FT373:9].BBC News, 10 May
2018.For earlier squirrel kings,
seeFT45:36, 46, 63:13, 104:11,
300:14, 355:25.- On 16 January 2005, farmer
Rein Kiiv discovered a 16-strong
rat king under thefl oor of his
shed in the Estonian village of
Saru. He put therats on a pile
of planks for visitors to see.Two
months later, zoologists got to
hear of it. Therat king of Saru
has been preserved in alcohol
and is on display at the Natural
History Museum at the University
of Tartu. For anotherrat king,
seeFT237:22.D.Mail, 13 April
DIRTY RATS
In otherrat news, Dheeraj Kumar
suspected a staff member
after discovering that a pair of
diamond earringswas missing
from his shop inPatna, Bihar.However, CCTV footage showed
a rat entering through the ceiling
and making off with the studs
from a display cabinet. They had
not been recovered.Irish Times,
9 Mar 2019.- Police in India said thatrats
had nibbled theirway through
more than a million rupees
worth of banknotes when they
got into a cash machine. After
reports of anATM in Tinsukia,
in India’s northeastern Assam
state, failing to dispense cash,
investigation revealed shredded
notes, in 2000 and 500 rupee
denominations, and the body of
a deadrat.Hindustan Times, 20
June 2018.
SIDELINES...RSPCAAFP / GETTY IMAGES
SEA MONSTER
An anonymous buyer paid £4,
for an antique 5ft 5in (165cm)
stuffed whale penis at an auction
in Stansted Mountfitchet,Essex.
Sunday People, 24Feb 2019.TOO MUCH INFORMATION
A teacher has been suspended
for making pupils cry by telling
them hewas Jesus and that he
knew when the world would end.
The comments were made ata
primary school inTurkey’s Antalya
province.Metro, 24 April 2019.DRINK DRIVERS
On 28February a driverwas pulled
over in Exeter and a breath test
found he had consumed twice
the legal alcohol limit. Hewas
Harry Booz, 31. Then on 9 Marcha
44-year-old driverwas pulled over
in Butler County,Pennsylvania, for
driving erratically. He had downed
more than twice the legal booze
limit, despite his name – Daniel
Sober.D.Mirror, 1 Mar; huffpost.
com, 20 Mar 2019.HOT MONKEYS
In June scorching temperatures in
India lasted for more than a week.
A troop of monkeys died from sus-
pected heatstroke in Joshi Baba
forestrange in Madhya Pradesh,
where the temperature reached
114 ̊F (46 ̊C). They were believed
to have fought a rival troop over
access to awater source.Sunday
Telegraph, 9 June 2019.RELIC THEFT
Clothing belonging to two child
saints has been stolen froma
church inVerona, Italy. Francisco
and Jacinta Marto, from Fátima in
Portugal, reported seeing theVirgin
Mary in 1917.Metro, 30 May 2019.MYSTERY COLLISION
Almost 90 people were injured
on 9 March when a ferry travelling
near Sado Island in the Sea of
Japan collided with a“massive
marine creature”. No trace of it
was found, but therewas a 6in
(15cm) wide crack in the hull.
The fact that no remains or other
traces of any whales were found
suggested the possibility that the
boat collided with something more
unusual. In 2015, a 12ft (3.7m)
giant squidwas fi lmed just south
of Nigata where the ferry collision
took place.mysteriousuniverse.
org, 12 Mar 2019.STRANGEDAYSABOVE: The“squirrel king” found in woods near Stockton-on-Tees. The babies were rescued by the RSPCA and untangled bya
localvet.BELOW: A deadrat discovered among the shredded remains of banknotes in anATM in Assam, northeastern India.